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Nepal: Landless peasants and Maoists (CPN-M) struggle for land, against landlord in government

[This struggle for land has been ongoing for years. Since the abandonment of the People’s War by the UCPN-M, Maoist defenders of the peasant land seizures have continued to hold and seize the lands of feudal landlords. See the two articles on recent actions, followed by news of an earlier (2011) confrontation in Bardiya. — Frontlines ed.]

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Baidya cadres seize Regmi land

BARDIYA, APR 03 – Workers of the Mohan Baidya-led CPN-Maoist have captured around 6.7 hectares of land belonging to Chairman of the Interim Election Government Khil Raj Regmi in Khairichandanpur VDC-7 in the district.
Around 25 Maoist activists led by district secretary Drabya Shah announced the seizure by hoisting the party’s flags on the land on Tuesday night. They shouted anti-government slogans and demanded Regmi’s resignation. The party claimed it captured around 23 hectares of the land belonging to the Regmi family. Shah said they captured the property as per the party’s policy.
Chief District Officer Dhruba Raj Joshi said the land was registered in the name of Regmi’s wife Shanta.
Police reached the site on Wednesday morning and removed the flags from the land.
After the incident, a meeting of the security committee was held under CDO Joshi to discuss the incident. A source said the local administration is awaiting orders from the Home Ministry on the matter.
A meeting of eight political parties, excluding the UCPN (Maoist) and the CPN-M, urged the CPN-M to stop capturing land and spreading terror.

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CPN-M captures Prime minister’s land

Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) led by Mohan Vaidya has seized some 21.8 acres of land owned by Khil Raj Regmi, chairman of Interim Election Council, among others, while capturing total 75 acres of land in Bardiya Wednesday morning.
In a series of protests against the government demanding the formation of a new government led by political parties, CPN-M Bardiya chapter has clutched the land acquired by Regmi, his father-in-law Laxmi Prasad Updhyaya and a local landowner, Yubaraj Sharma at Khairi Chandanpur ward no 8 of Bardiya, confirmed Ganesh Aryal, in-charge of CPN-M mid western command.

Hundreds of local people were gathered at Khairi Chandanpur-8 while CPN-M Bardiya district secretary Drabya Shah and mid western command in-charge Aryal jointly placed the red flag of party.’

”We have seized Regmi’s property following the direction from party headquarter and decision of district committee”, said Drabya Shah, district secretary adding that they will continue to grasp the land owned by the local ‘landlords’.

Shah claimed that the incident is an opening of the plan to grab all the properties of ‘feudal elites’ one by one which was returned to the owners by Unified Communist Party of Nepal Maoist (UCPN-M) led by Puspa Kamal Dahal.

Dharmendra Bastola, politburo member of CPN-M stated that the incident in Bardiya is a part of special counter regressive campaign launched by the party to oppose major parties agreement nominating the prime minister sidelining the political parties.

He added, ”Capturing the land is symbolic oppose towards the move of four political parties which we have termed as a political coup since the formation of interim election council headed by the chief justice Khilraj Regmi has suspended some 25 articles of Interim Constitution, 2006.”

Maoists had previously seized the same land owned by Khilraj Regmi in the wartime period too.

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Land seizure: Maoists grab vast chunks in Bardiya

BARDIYA, FEB 12, 2011 – The UCPN (Maoist) has announced the seizure of over 200 hectares of land in Manau and Khairichandanpur VDCs of Bardiya.

Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Peasants’ Association and All Nepal Squatters’ Association announced the seizure at a function on Friday. Some 200 Maoist activists demonstrated before making the announcement and hoisting party flags on the land.
Maoist supporters grabbed 130 hectares of land from Trilokman Shrestha, Madhu Rijal, Bishnuman Shrestha and others in Manau. In Khairichandanpur, they captured 74 hectares of land from Shyam Upadhyay and Laxmi Upadhyay.
The Maoist district leadership admitted to the action saying it was compelled to do so as landlords were selling land ignoring the plight of tillers. Maoist District Committee member Ganesh Aryal accused the landowners of not trying to solve the tillers’ problems.
CDO Ramkrishna Subedi said security personnel later plucked out Maoist party flags from the “seized land”.
Calling local farmers feudal landlords, Maoists captured hundreds of hectares in Rajapur Tappu during the decade-long insurgency. Some 700 hectares of land is said to be in Maoist control in the area even today. Mukti Bahadur Swar complained the Maoists had prevented him from using his land and threatened him not to sell it without their permission.
“The government is apathetic to the plight of tillers, landless squatters and freed Kamaiyas. They are protesting the sale of land by owners who have left them in the lurch,” said Maoist Assistant District In-charge Keshav Poudel.Posted on: 2011-02-13 08:36